
Throughout America, teens are relying on social media for communication and a relay of information for them to be able to stay connected with the world. Most teens in America have some form of a social media account, rather it be to talk to friends/family, look at pictures, or keep up with worldly news. I am interested in this topic because I have grown up in America, with social media as a main topic all around me. However, different from today's pre-teens, in my pre-teen years, social media was just making its turn in society. Throughout high school and the start of college it has blossomed into an everyday routine. As the reliance on social media has grown, I have been interested in psychological disorders because of their effect regarding teens as they embark into their development to be adults. Learning more about how these mental disorders affect teens throughout America will allow my interest grow. In my family, I have many people with different kind of mental disorders, as in; anxiety, depression, and dementia. Having these in my family drives me to learn more about them and how they affect teens throughout America. Having experience with these disorders and doing extensive research gives me the credibility to write on this subject. So, how is social media "diagnosing" teens with mental disorders in America? 

Throughout the world, about 90% of teens have a social media account (Mozes). Overall, Mozes found that most to all teens that are avid social media networkers are vulnerable to be diagnosed with mental health disorders. In his research, he asked teens how often they were on social media and what time they were able to turn off their connections and go to sleep. He also asked them what their pressure level was to be available to respond and/or look at posts at all times. Most teens were unable to go to sleep at night because they had a fear of missing out. These teens were the most susceptible for these disorders because of the inability to get a good night's rest and the pressure they are feeling from themselves and their peers to stay connected. They also stated that they didn't want a peer to need them and not get a response. With less sleep then needed being a teenager, these teens were more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and self-esteem issues. Also, with less sleep, these teenagers were more irritable and tired throughout each day. With these issues, their school and home performance were directly impacted. However, a researcher reviewed this experiment and came across that teens were not the only people susceptible. Researcher, Scott Campbell, included adults into the experiment. He found that adults were also susceptible to these disorders when staying up at night because of social media. He also believes that social media is not all bad. Teens who are not avidly on social media networks through the night and were not relying on the feedback from peers, were less susceptible to these disorders. With this research, teens are more susceptible when they look to social media seeking attention from peers, which shows low self-esteem coming in. The researchers, Scott Campbell and Alan Mozes, do research for WebMD. WebMD is a credible source because of the awards given to the site for the content given to their readers. They also have strict criteria that their staff and editorial team have to contain.

Cyberbullying and online harassment are two issues that are most directly related to mental disorders in teens. A teen that has or is being cyberbullied, has a great chance of developing anxiety, depression, severe isolation, and suicide (O'Keefe). "Facebook depression" is an ongoing problem with teens throughout the United States. They are spending so much time on social media that they are showing depression symptoms when no longer on the sites. Teens show these symptoms because they are not getting the attention and communication with their peers. When teens are in this state, they seek for help. They turn to risky online sites and into severe isolation (O'Keefe). These depression symptoms are also a part of cyberbullying because of the impact peers put on each other. The author's evidence is backed by researchers' experiments on the subject. Another point of evidence the author suggests is how old the teens are when they are exposed to social media sites. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, set my Congress, states that the child must be thirteen years of age before able to sign up for any social media account. If younger then thirteen, they need parental allowance. However, the pre-teens are being allowed to have social media accounts without parental supervision. These children are downloading each app without parental allowance or eve knowledge. This allows the young teens to be exposed to this social media frenzy much sooner than the generations before. This journal article is from the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics and it was written by Gwenn O'Keefe and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson. This article is from a scholarly journal with credibility for the subject written on. The authors, O'Keefe and Pearson, are both qualified because they are certified pediatricians studying the matter at hand. 

Based on the research done by Amelia Strickland teens and young adults that are more narcissistic have lower chances for acquiring depression because of social media. Having narcissistic personality disorder means the individual has a sense of high-importance therefore adheres to a less chance of depression. On the other hand of this issue, this research also shows that narcissism is also influenced by the time spent on social media. She explains that the longer a teen spent on social media, the higher the narcissistic levels because of the constant peer attention. She also explains the side of social networking that causes anxiety. Teens and young adults are worried throughout the day when they couldn't constantly check their email or social media accounts (Strickland). Teens were more susceptible to this worry because of their dependence on staying connected and the judgment with their peers. The author is credible to write this article because she is a student at the University of Central Florida studying the effect of social media. Her work was also reviewed by her thesis chair, Sherry Holladay Ph.D. 

Social media is a huge part of the lives of modern teens throughout the United States. This thesis statement is arguable because there are two sides. People could believe that social media does effect the brain of a teenager or that it doesn't cause any effect. There is also a great amount of credible evidence for each side of this research question. There are many agreements that my sources have made. They have all agreed that there are some effects to the teenage brain because of social media. However, each source has a different way that social media effects the brain. They also have different understandings about who social media effects. Most sources said teenagers were definitely the most effected but young adults and older adults are also susceptible. On the other hand, one source argued both sides of the question. They said that social media does effect the brain, however, it depends on who the user is and how long they use the network. The teens that are being diagnosed with these mental disorders spend much of their day on social networking sites. The teens that aren't diagnosed do not rely on social media for every connection to the world. The different views throughout the sources didn't affect my thought about the topic. However, I might revise my question to add how long a teen spent on the networking sit throughout the day. I would also add the dependence the teens had on the social networking sites. 

